last 24 hours | takingnote.blogs.nytimesTaking Note | Lindsey Graham, Hillary Clinton, Monica Lewinsky: A Case Study ... - New York Times (blog)"...Not so Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who is currently in what seems like a dead heat with former Gov. George Pataki of New York, for the least public support among the 17 deeply unimpressive contenders for the Republican nomination.Mr. Graham was on stage on Monday at a candidate forum in New Hampshire. A candidate forum is exactly like a candidate debate, except it's not called that for indiscernible reasons. Like the rest of the Republican candidates, who were busy not engaging on anything of substance, Mr. Graham decided to attack Hillary Clinton, who of course is among the few public figures not running for the GOP nomination. I am fluent in Clinton-speak, he said. Then he added: When Bill says he didn't have sex with that woman, he did. Continuing his witless attempt to smear Mrs. Clinton, he said: When she tells us Trust me, you have all the emails you need,' we haven't even scratched the surface. ..." see full article

"...Since leaving active duty in 1989 and joining the Air Force Reserve, Mr. Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who is running for president, appears to have performed very little substantive work for the Air Force. Yet, he rose in rank to colonel and remained in the service until his retirement in June, which entitles him to a monthly $2,773 pension.An article by Craig Whitlock of The Washington Post shows that though Mr. Graham did very little in the reserve, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement: He was able to keep the honor of the uniform intertwined with his political life and the Air Force got to keep a lawmaker in its ranks who had stature and sway on Capitol Hill. Mr. Graham, a conservative hawk, sits on the Senate appropriations, armed services, budget and judiciary committees...." see full article

"...But despite Graham's seemingly fond memories of JPOA, he wasn't always a fan of the accord. While the South Carolina senator now appears to be taking the position that anything is better than the recently negotiated deal, he once thought JPOA was an atrocity. On Nov. 25, 2013, the day after the plan was announced, Graham lamented that Iran had been offered even limited relief from sanctions when we had the chance to deliver a body blow by hitting the country with further economic punishment. The sanctions actually worked, but this interim deal gives the Iranians $7 billion in cash and leaves in place one of the most sophisticated enrichment programs around, Graham said at the time. He added that the U.S. should have been tougher on Iran in terms of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and the centrifuges used to enrich the material...." see full article

"...Most notably, Graham has been the GOP field's swiftest and most barbed critic of Donald Trump and his noxious comments about illegal immigration. While other Republican politicians may be worried about offending people who are upset, Graham said of Trump's remarks, this is not about illegal immigration anymore. It's about how Republicans view people. . . . If we don't speak clearly here, we're making a mistake for the ages. Graham himself drew the connection to radical Islam, yet it is telling that, when asked which book besides the Bible has most shaped his thinking, Graham cited William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. He was particularly struck, Graham said, by the author's depiction of how you could take a very educated public and, due to economic distress, they could turn into something very evil. Demagoguery. Making someone the scapegoat. Germany as a cultured country: How could it go from there, before World War I, to where it was in 1939? It's a fascinating understanding of people. And you always have to be on your guard. ..." see full article

"...Call it a cave-in or a flip-flop or an evolution. In Pickens and Oconee counties, where Graham was raised and remains today, the people know him firsthand or otherwise and like him. Some resent the Republican senator for turning on the flag. Most understand it. On race and Confederate heritage, they express the same mix of stubborn defensiveness, empathy and resignation that Graham has. In that way, he represents the people here. But he certainly isn't leading them.The battle standard still has its staunch defenders in Central. At the Wal-Mart on Calhoun Memorial Highway, Confederate memorabilia had already been cleared from the shelves on Friday, but the flag shone from the front license-plate holder of a Chevy pickup in the parking lot. The truck's owner, Rita Haney, 28, said she wasn't bowing to the flag's opponents. She's planning to fly a big one in her front yard, just to piss them the f - off. ..." see full article

"...Yet ever since Graham formally announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, his candidacy has been treated as something of a joke. Thus far, Graham's bachelor status has attracted the most attention. His promise to have a rotating first lady drew giggles and jokes including a quip by Sen. Mark Kirk that Graham was a bro with no ho. Graham then gave a somewhat melancholy interview insisting that being single did not make him a defective person. Lurking behind the media's fascination with Graham's singlehood is an assumption about his sexuality. Gay rumors have long plagued the senator, and other South Carolina politicians have even implied that Graham is closeted. (Graham has declared that he ain't gay. ) These whispers become shouts on the late-night circuit, where comedians like Jon Stewart and John Oliver earn laughs by ridiculing Graham's ostensibly effeminate mannerisms...." see full article

"...And finally, in his lighthearted dismissal of the infatuation with first ladies, he makes no bones about the fact that the republic will do fine without an unelected White House fixture, a sort of royal consort (an expensive one at that) more appropriate for a monarchy than the United States. He joked: The last time I checked, there was nothing in the Constitution or at the White House [that] said single people need not apply. I'm going to be a ready-to-go commander in chief, protect everybody, single people included. Good for him.Both Graham and Ohio Gov. John Kasich benefit from candor and lack of concern for the ire they stir in the GOP. While Graham refuses to give way to those peddling snake oil on the Islamic State or immigration or feigning horror about the absence of a hostess-in-chief, Kasich pesters Republicans to embrace the poor, disabled, drug-addicted and other overlooked Americans. Neither especially cares what his right-wing critics say. So while they both can infuriate some on the right (especially in conservative media), their irreverence and intolerance of cant make them two of the most interesting and essential participants in the 2016 presidential race...." see full article

1007 days ago | ringoffireradioLindsey Graham is the Tyrant We Expected Him To Be; Would Fire Dissenting ... - Ring of Fire"...Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is running for president and has some insane ideas about how to handle and use the United States military. He would fire any military leader that didn't share his desire for military conquest, reported Addicting Info.Graham cited a Washington Post article that noted how military leaders warned President Obama against sending combat troops to fight the Islamic State. This angered the war hawkGraham, who aired his grievances about the article this week on Face the Nation. I'm dying to hear from our military leadership on how we degrade and destroy ISIL with the current strategy, said Graham. So now would be a good time to call [Defense Secretary] Ash Carter and our military leaders to our Capitol Hill and say, If you've got a problem with what we're doing, let me know. But tell me how this is working.' ..." see full article

"...It turns out Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) campaign for president isn't just about damning the torpedoes and declaring war on any nation that dares to give America the side-eye. This week, Graham transparently pandered to the far-right base by reminding everyone that he also happens to be a total ghoul on the issue of reproductive rights.On Thursday, Graham introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate titled The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. A version of the bill was passed in the House already and, along the same lines, Graham's version would ban all abortions with few exceptions after the 20th week of pregnancy. The twisted reasoning goes like this: After 20 weeks, fetuses can feel pain. That's what they say. And by they, I don't mean actual doctors. We'll circle back to that presently...." see full article

"...In this chummy phase of the presidential race, Graham, 59, is proving to be the chummiest of a large and expanding Republican field. A long shot at best he registers as a blip in the polls Graham relishes being in the spotlight and a part of the debate. He wisecracks on the cattle-call circuit and texts punchy one-liners to GOP moneymen from his old-school flip phone. His impish campaign-trail humor leaves almost everyone in stitches. Isn't Lindsey hilarious? Ann Romney gushed the other day.But Graham's campaign is not merely about jokes. He's focused on national security and global threats such as the Islamic State terrorist group, using his megaphone to keep the Republican Party balanced on the hawkish right...." see full article

1009 days ago | timeLindsey Graham Challenges Republican Rivals on Debt Ceiling - TIME"... When you look at the number of Republicans who say we will never raise the debt ceiling if you put a gun to their head, you're going to have to get Democrats to do this, he added. It's going to be a challenge for our party and I think people running to be president should speak about what would you do as president, what would you do as a person wanting to be president when it came time to lift the debt ceiling. Because it is about leadership. In laying down the gauntlet, the South Carolina defense hawk is further positioning himself as a contrarian on party orthodoxy, with his support for immigration reform and efforts to combat climate change. Graham is also attempting to force his Republican opponents, who are navigating between the wishes of the business community to avoid more uncertainty and the frustration among the conservative base with the growth of the federal government, into a tougher spot...." see full article

"...But all that scarcely makes his words less admirable. There was something Churchillian about Lindsey Graham's willingness to confront the cost of what he's proposing -- "the blood, toil, tears and sweat" it will take to face up to the test that now confronts American foreign policy. It's a price other candidates who speak glibly of restoring American leadership in the world may try to gloss over. They'd prefer to minimize the challenge. But the senator from South Carolina recognizes that there's nothing minimal about the test ahead. And if this country is serious about facing it, that'll mean American boots on the ground. ..." see full article

1014 days ago | arkansasonlineHere's Lindsey Graham - Arkansas Online"...First, he'll be making foreign policy the centerpiece of his campaign--as opposed to demagoguing hot-button domestic issues like immigration. Second, he doesn't underestimate the sacrifices it will entail to keep this country secure and restore its leadership in the world, which are much the same thing--no matter what our neo-isolationists claim. Third, and the reason he's not going to be his party's presidential nominee next year, he suffers from a fatal political defect in this era of the slick-and-sly. It can summed up in a couple of words. He's too honest.But all that scarcely makes his words less admirable. There was something Churchillian about Lindsey Graham's willingness to face the cost of what he's proposing--"the blood, toil, tears, and sweat" it will take to face up to the test that now confronts American foreign policy. It's a price other candidates who speak glibly of restoring American leadership in the world may try to gloss over. They'd prefer to minimize the challenge. But the senator from South Carolina recognizes that there's nothing minimal about the test ahead. And if this country is serious about facing it, that'll mean American boots on the ground...." see full article

1015 days ago | timeLindsey Graham Offers Straight Talk With a Southern Twang - TIME"...Graham launched his campaign this week with a pitch to Republican voters that promises a strong military, defense of social safety nets and unflinching honesty. He is sharing the story about raising his teenaged sister after both parents died. He is running his campaign as a referendum on President Barack Obama's tenure as the leader of the U.S. military. They deserve a Commander in Chief better than they have today, Graham said Friday as he met with GOP activists in West Des Moines, Iowa.But he has challenges far steeper than McCain. For one, no one knows Graham outside the cable networks' booking departments. He is competing for the nomination against candidates who have run before, such as Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee, or have dynastic help, such as Jeb Bush and Rand Paul. He struggled to attract national attention and he lacks a national fundraising machine. Help me pay for it, Graham joked after an audience watched a promotional video. And, like McCain, he backed overhauls to the nation's immigration system that drew a backlash from conservatives in his party, earning him the name Lindsey Grahamnesty, as he relates, chuckling...." see full article

1017 days ago | hotairLindsey Graham: If you're tired of war, don't vote for me An error occurred. - Hot Air"...You know what I think about that: Graham's ego is big enough that he may legitimately feel no one else in the field is as qualified on natsec to be president as he is, regardless of whether he has a realistic shot at the nomination or not. He needs to give America the chance to elect him even if, paradoxically, he ends up helping Rand Paul by drawing hawkish votes in South Carolina that otherwise might have gone to Marco Rubio or another hawk. But assume I'm wrong and that Trende is right. Assume that Graham is a stalking horse for someone. Who's he stalking for? It's got to be Jeb Bush, right? Rubio is quietly going all in to win South Carolina, knowing that if he does, it'll give him momentum in Florida. If he wins Florida, then it's bye-bye Jeb, the biggest obstacle for Rubio en route to the nomination. If Graham can stop Rubio in South Carolina, it'll help Jeb in Florida, where a win could propel Bush to the nomination. And President Jeb might be sufficiently grateful to make Graham his AG or, God help us, his secretary of defense...." see full article

"...He is among the least likely of serious candidates in the minds of many. He is one of the least conservative Republicans from one of the country's most conservative regions. He doesn't have children, and is not even married (nor has he ever been). As a result, a GOP political opponent has even insinuated that Graham was gay. The first gay president a Republican? Don't hold your breath, even if Graham is gay, he is unlikely to win his party's nomination, let alone the country's highest office. Rumor has it (at least among conservatives), Graham is not even considering a run in order to win, but to serve the role of protecting the interests of the GOP establishment and neoconservatism...." see full article

1020 days ago | newrepublicLindsey Graham: A Republican That Environmentalists Can Love - The New Republic"...Environmentalists have high hopes for the South Carolina senator. His entry would be a breath of fresh air, said Suzanne Henkels, a spokesperson for Tom Steyer's NextGen Climate. Slate's Eric Holthaus wrote a glowing story on Graham's commitment in March, saying Graham has the ability to bridge the divide between the right and the left by motivating the GOP to consider practical solutions to climate change that can improve the welfare of the entire world."Graham, who's crafted moderate bills on cap-and-trade and immigration reform, might be best known as a foreign policy hawk and an opponent of the Obama administration's Middle East strategy. But his hawkishness is precisely what makes his pitch on climate change that much more effective to a different kind of audience. He might describe curbing greenhouse gas emissions in terms of national security, allowing him to distance himself from President Barack Obama without denying scientific reality. The logical thing to do is to jump on to Obama's position on climate change as a national security issue and out-muscle Obama's actions, e-mailed R.L. Miller, founder of the campaign group Climate Hawks Vote that supports climate-friendly candidates. ..." see full article

1021 days ago | bustleLindsey Graham Is A Single Man Running For President — So What Would ... - Bustle"...The First Lady of the United States has become an unpaid full-time job, and when we elect a president, we're electing their entire family as well. There's already speculation about what the position would become if Hillary Clinton's elected First Husband? First Gentleman? but what would happen if the person elected doesn't have a spouse? Republican Lindsey Graham has never has been married, and he's the only presidential candidate that isn't. So what would happen to, well, the office of the First Lady?Graham has never been married, and he has no kids. There's a long-standing rumor that Graham might be gay, but he's consistently denied it; he's also publicly opposed same-sex marriage. Regardless of his sexual orientation, though the fact of the matter is, he's single. What exactly would we do without a First Lady? Michelle Obama does a whole lot, after all, and the position has become a cultural emblem. If Graham were elected, there would simply be no one to fill the job...." see full article

1021 days ago | fivethirtyeightLindsey Graham May Have Already Won - FiveThirtyEight"...That isn't to say everyone is an absolute hawk on every issue. For example, Graham wants U.S. boots on the ground to fight the Islamic State group neither Bush nor Ted Cruz does. Rubio seems to be leaning toward a few troops, and Walker has most certainly not ruled it out. Dark horse John Kasich wants boots on the ground, as do Rick Perry and George Pataki. The point is that there are plenty of other voices arguing for Graham's position.None of this means Graham can't enter the race and push his views. It's just that doing so may be the equivalent of selling Yankees apparel outside of Yankee Stadium it's an in-demand product, but there's plenty of other vendors. Graham is preaching to an electorate that has mostly come back around to his views on foreign policy and national security. And there are plenty of other candidates with similar positions, including some who stand a much better chance of winning the nomination...." see full article

"...In 2010, the never-married Graham told The New York Times Magazine that rumors he is gay are untrue. Jon Stewart even defended Graham against the slur back at the time when it was some of his fellow Republicans making the accusation.Stewart defended Graham when he was being slurred by other Republicans, but joins in the bashing while cleverly never saying he is when that same Republican is doing something he disagrees with.Why is it OK for a good liberal like Stewart to make gay jokes about a man who says he isn't gay and for which there is no evidence that he is? And regardless, why is gay-bashing acceptable just because a liberal is doing the bashing against a conservative?..." see full article

"...It was a few weeks ago when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) shared a pretty dumb observation with a Boston audience: Everything that starts with Al' in the Middle East is bad news. To bolster his point, the Republican even started rattling off some examples: al Qaeda, al-Nusra, al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, etc. What Graham apparently didn't realize is that al, is the Arabic word for the. One of the Republican Party's most prominent voices on foreign affairs shared an insight that made him appear quite foolish...." see full article

1027 days ago | theweekHow Lindsey Graham's blustery neocon nonsense could help Rand Paul - The Week Magazine"...Unlike other hawks in the race, Graham makes it very easy to demonstrate how his outsized foreign policy would lead to big government at home. Graham's contention that the American homeland is a battlefield is ultimately incompatible with constitutionally limited government, something made plain by his frequent willingness to weaken Bill of Rights protections on its behalf.Also unlike some other Republican hawks, Graham isn't that big of a limited-government guy outside foreign policy. He's defended the Wall Street bailout. He's co-written op-eds with John Kerry demanding cap and trade. He's suggested he's to the left of most Republicans on taxes. Graham has teamed up with John McCain on campaign finance reform and expressed support for a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United, a fashionable cause on the left...." see full article

"...The tea party hates South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, and the feeling is mutual. It attacked the Republican lawmaker mercilessly during his Senate reelection campaign in 2014, but Graham held his seat with 55 percent of the vote. "Kicking the crap out of the tea party is the most fun Senator Lindsey Graham has ever had," wrote Molly Ball for The Atlantic last June after interviewing the South Carolina Republican on the eve of his primary election victory, when he faced six no-name challengers, one of them a tea party pick, in his deep red state's Republican primary.On June 1, Graham plans to join the crowded GOP 2016 field, according to his preannouncement on Monday. And his soon-to-be presidential campaign raises the question: How will the Graham/tea pary feud continue?The animosity between this three-term senator and tea partiers began before his 2014 reelection campaign, triggered in part by Graham's intermittent attempts to work with Democrats in the Senate. Such moves have enraged staunch conservatives. The Greenville GOP compiled a list of 29 offenses that they "strongly disapprove of and hold to be fundamentally inconsistent with the principles of the South Carolina Republican Party."* Right-wing blogs have nicknamed him "Flimsy Lindsey" and "Grahmnesty" because he disagreed with his party on climate change, immigration reform, and a few other hot-button Republican issues...." see full article

1033 days ago | qzLindsey Graham is no friend to US immigrants - Quartz"...Graham also voted to make English the national language of the United States. The US constitution does not stipulate an official language and though the establishment of English as the national American language would not necessarily be implemented to the exclusion of other language ins official documents, it is an implicit assertion of Anglo cultural superiority...." see full article

1033 days ago | thefederalistLindsey Graham Is An Unhinged Kook Who Shouldn't Be Taken Seriously - The Federalist"...He holds an expansive view of the unrestricted powers of the executive branch; a steadfast belief in protecting the administrative state; and he has expressed doubts about much of the Bill of Rights. He does not believe bloggers deserve first amendment protections. He does not believe Americans suspected of terrorist acts deserve to be read their rights. And he, like Hillary Clinton, believes the Citizens United decision was a monstrosity that ought to be overturned he has called for a Constitutional amendment to do so...." see full article

"...If you look at Graham's record a certain way and squint, he doesn't look quite so unlikely: military veteran, Southern Baptist, working-class roots; vocal critic of the Obama administration's foreign policy and the 2012 Benghazi affair; native of a state that holds the third presidential nominating contest; an experienced legislator in a field short on same...." see full article

"...The off-beat humor went over well with the crowd, though. His hospitality suite after the event was one of the most-trafficked of the night, with Iowans who knew little about Graham previously lining up to meet the senator. He gladly stood by for photos and to chat, pushing cookies and drinks on visitors...." see full article

1035 days ago | advocateThe Great Ambiguity of a President Lindsey Graham - Advocate.com"...But Graham's earlier comments on marriage equality have been far less conciliatory, frequently claiming that legal marriage equality will lead to legal polygamy. He most prominently advanced that argument during the confirmation hearings for U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, when the South Carolina senator tried to get the nominee to opine on the legal basis for multi-person marriage, should the court find a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. ..." see full article

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